Tuesday Treasures

On Tuesday's we are going to take a trip down memory lane with some "remember when" photos and stories submitted by our students. It could be photos from a high school prom; a nostalgic look at a 1950's TV program or a collage of photos that were just taken last week. If you have memories, old or new, you would like to share, send them to me at mxw8110@yahoo.com

This simple yet effective collage was created in Photoshop Elements by one of my favorite students, Kevin Rush. He visits New York City as often as possible to take in all the city has to offer plus to catch up on the many family members and friends who live in or near New York City.

He is a native of New Jersey and spent many a day and night in New York City before leaving home to attend college at the University of Tennessee and to pursue a career with Celanese Corporation.

He and his wife Linda (an excellent baker and dedicated teacher) were fortunate to live in the New York City suburbs for 13 years during which time their son Bryan was born. Kevin's career took the family to Dallas in 1992 where they have put down new roots.

The pictures in the collage were all taken on a Saturday morning between 7 and 7:30 in and around his niece's apartment in the West Village of NY City. Kevin said, “I thought she would appreciate getting to see her neighborhood from a perspective and lighting she normally would not witness. Why should she ever be up at 7 on a Saturday morning?”

Thanks to Kevin for sharing his "morning magic" of photos in this collage collection.

Capture the Moment Monday

Dave Berry, Director of the Photography Department at Computer School for Seniors will be sharing his insightful Photo Tips with you every Monday for Capture the Moment Mondays.

Dave's Photographic Mentor

Today I'm highlighting one of my favorite Photographic websites to visit----Moose Peterson.

This is a website that is dedicated to Moose Peterson's great passion for wildlife photography. Yes, that's his real name and he is a talented gentleman and a true inspiration. Over the years I've had the pleasure of attending several of his workshops and let me tell you - they are the BEST!!!!

With just shy of 2100 pages, all written by Moose, you'll find tons of information to read and awesome photos to enjoy. You can learn about taking great pictures by reading through his site. It can be found by going to http://www.moosepeterson.com/. While on Moose's website don't forget to visit Moose's great daily blog.

Until next week thanks for dropping by...meanwhile go out and have FUN WITH YOUR CAMERA!!!!!

Inspirational Sunday

Bill Witcher, co-founder of Computer School for Seniors will be sharing words of encouragement, inspiration and hope with you each Sunday.

Just Stay

Have you ever had the feeling that someone needed to hear from you? That you had to make a call or pay a visit to a friend or loved one? I have. Over the years I think we have all made telephone calls that have started out with, "I've been thinking about you. I just had to call to see how you are doing." Many times our Lord will put a thought in our mind or touch our heart and we just know we are needed. The following story a friend shared with me via email explains how God can use us in many unexpected ways for His work.

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

"Your son is here," she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile.

He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

"Who was that man?" he asked.

The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.

"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"

"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here.

When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."

"I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His son was killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this gentleman's name?"

The Nurse with tears in her eyes answered,


“Mr. William Grey.............”

The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Stay.


WE AREN'T HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.

WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

Saturday Star Review

The year 2009 brought many mixed blessings along with it. For our blog, that year featured exceptional images and stories. Since we have more and more new people befriending our blog, on Saturdays we have decided to do a review of some of the Stars from our first year.

Restore and Collage


Jane Kennedy, one of my gifted students, showed me this lovely collage she had created. I just cannot say enough about the creativity, sense of design and talent I see continuously when dealing with my wonderful 50-to-90-age-group students!

When I asked her if we could use her collage in our blog she kindly consented.

There is a sweet story that goes along with it. The image the collage is created around is of her mother, Pauline Baxley. Jane found this picture in a box after her brother had passed away. She had never seen it before. Her mother had written “Pondie” right across the front of the photograph!!

Jane says, “Thank goodness she did that or I never would have known who it was!” Jane is a Photoshop user, so she was able to remove the signature.

Then her recipe for such a successful image, was to use a scrapbook background she found in one of her books. Next she found the fashion ladies and the old automobile on the Internet and added those to her collage in Photoshop Elements. She stirred these appealing elements together and ended up with a charming collage for herself and her family!!

Thank you Jane for sharing this wonderful collage with all of us!

Internet Magic Fridays

Jane Booras is the Editor of numerous newsletters including our Campus Times. She will be sharing how you can find whatever you need - photos, clipart, information, maps, phone numbers - on the Internet.


One day last week when I opened the front door, I noticed a new “Yellow Pages” phone book had been delivered. It was thick and heavy, and I lugged it inside and back to the study. There I retrieved last year’s edition of the same book. Together they could easily give me a backache or help a 2-year old reach the dinner table from a dining room chair!

My intent was to replace the old one with the new one on the shelf. But suddenly I realized that, in one whole year, I haven’t once opened the yellow pages! So I hauled them BOTH to the recycle bin.

When I need to know something about something, something about anything, or anything about something or anything about anything – I go to the Internet! Google is my new best friend.

Need a phone number? Internet. Plumber? Internet. Zip Code? Internet. Map or driving directions? Internet. Possible treatments for Aunt Sally’s latest illness? Internet. Picture for a greeting card or church bulletin? Internet.

It goes on and on and a world of information is there at the tips of your fingers.

The Internet is a rich and reliable resource for (almost) anything you need to know. Besides that, it expands what you need to know by taking you to places that tell you what you didn’t know you need to know.

As we blog around each Friday, we’ll explore some of this fascinating new universe. Besides, who needs all those heavy, bulky old phone books anyway?

Lifelong Learning Thursday

Nancy Merz Nordstrom, author of Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret of Making the Most of Your After 50 Years will share the benefits of Lifelong Learning on Thursdays.

LEARNING LATER, LIVING GREATER:

The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years.

Lifelong Learning in Your Later Years…

A Health Club for Your Mind, Body, and Spirit!

Continuing from last week…

During one of our excursions, while we were sitting at a cafe in downtown Innsbruck, we heard people chanting and were very surprised to see a large human-rights demonstration coming down Maria Theresian Strasse, the main street of Innsbruck. They were Turkish patriots and sympathizers, carrying signs, banners and coffins protesting the death of one of their leaders.

Now, that street–Maria Theresian Strasse – is the very same street that I had seen in a film the day before as part of a lecture on the history of Austria. In that film, the street was again the scene of a large march, not of human rights activists, however, but of Nazis during World War II. What the film showed us was the occupation of Innsbruck by Hitler and his troops.

It was a sobering, eerie experience to sit there and watch this modern-day demonstration since in my mind’s eye I saw the Nazis instead. This was a real life history lesson for me, learning at its very best.

All of our lectures and field trips were designed as real life history lessons. For instance, in preparation for our upcoming trip to Italy and the South Tirol, our lecturer took us through several hundred years of the history of that region, focusing on the treaty after World War I in 1918 that took South Tirol away from Austria and gave it to Italy.

Since the professor blamed President Woodrow Wilson for Austria’s loss of the Tirol, things got a bit sticky between him and some of our group who also knew their history. But it certainly made for a fascinating morning, which flew by. It’s always interesting and very educational to learn about other points of view.

How different these classes were from those of my youth. I found myself thinking over and over how I wished school could have been this stimulating, this challenging, this entertaining. I loved sitting in the classroom at the University of Innsbruck soaking up all the professors had to impart to me.

Next Week…Off to Italy

THURSDAY’S THOUGHT…

According to Michel de Montaigne, the Renaissance Scholar, “Traveling through the world produces a marvelous clarity in the judgment of men. We are all of us confined and enclosed within ourselves, and see no farther than the end of our nose. This great world is a mirror where we must see ourselves in order to know ourselves. There are so many different tempers, so many different points of view, judgments, opinions, laws and customs to teach us to judge wisely on our own, and to teach our judgment to recognize its imperfection and natural weakness.” This fact was certainly brought home to me as I sat in that café in Innsbruck.

For more information on Learning Later, Living Greater visit http://www.learninglater.com/ You can purchase Learning Later, Living Greater at http://www.amazon.com/

Till Next Time…

Nancy Merz Nordstrom is Director of the Lifelong Learning Department at Computer School for Seniors (http://www.cs4seniors.com/)

Age in Place Wednesday

On Wednesdays, Laurie Orlov, tech industry veteran, writer, speaker and elder care advocate will be sharing her insightful research on how seniors can safely and successfully live independent lives in the home of their choice.

Seniors Who Use Internet
Could Reap Health Benefits,
Studies Show

By George Lauer
iHealthBeat Features Editor

A couple of recent studies indicate elders are beginning to appreciate and embrace the health benefits of IT, a trend some predict will grow rapidly as the health industry gets up to speed with digital technology.

According to research released in October, spending time online reduces depression and increases cognitive brain function among senior citizens. A study conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Phoenix Center found that spending time online reduces depression by 20% for senior citizens.

Along with improvements in quality of life, researchers say reducing the incidence of depression by widespread Internet use among older Americans could help trim the nation's health care bill.

Meanwhile, researchers from Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California-Los Angeles found that surfing the Web for only a week stimulated areas of the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning in middle-aged and older adults with little Internet experience.

Tangible, measurable health benefits of technology, along with anecdotal evidence delivered word-of-mouth or through the media, will boost seniors' engagement, experts say.

David Lindeman, executive director of the Center for Technology and Aging, said when seniors begin seeing "real-life applications for health IT that actually improve their lives," barriers to technology go down and adoption goes up.

"When people see something that can actually improve their lives, they're going to seek it out and use it," Lindeman said.

"Five or 10 years ago, it may have been easy to say older adults were uncomfortable with some of the new technology, but that's changing on many levels. In addition to the issues of social connectedness and communication, you now have a whole new array of health benefits and those are about to expand with the possibilities of smart phones and mobile technology. That's going to be huge," Lindeman said.

Depression Study

Phoenix Center researchers said the implications of their findings are significant because depression affects millions of Americans aged 55 and older and costs about $100 million annually in direct medical and workplace costs.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project estimates 42% of Americans aged 65 and older use the Internet, significantly lower than rates of other age groups.

Because of the relatively low usage rates, researchers said the opportunity for better health outcomes from expanded Internet adoption among seniors is substantial.

"Efforts to expand broadband use in the U.S. must eventually tackle the problem of low adoption in the elderly population," George Ford, Phoenix Center chief economist and co-author of the study, said in a release accompanying the report.

"The positive mental health consequences of Internet [use] demonstrate, in part, the value of demand for stimulus programs aimed at older Americans," Ford added.